A Truly Better Way

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Last Saturday 50 or 60 of us met for the entire day in an informal house-church setting and I still feel I’m there--overjoyed in the Spirit, with lots of new memories and some new friends. 3 were baptized, so it was an especially wonderful day. But more on that later.

Some have suggested that a free Christian fellowship won’t work, that Christians must have a unifying doctrinal system. Others suggest the bible alone is not reliable, or that the canon should be revisited, or that the bible on its own is insufficient information for a Christian; that he or she needs additional Church writings or traditions. I won’t attempt an academic treatise, but I will give my own personal experience.

Free, biblical Christian fellowship, in the spirit of the Anabaptists, does indeed work, and works quite well—although it is not an easy road. I have been a member of just such a fellowship for several years now and I would never go back to an institutional religion. We have people from several backgrounds: JW, Bible Student, United Church, Adventist, Mennonite, Baptist, Church of God, Pentecostal and others. Some are Trinitarian, some are not. Some still go to a denominational church, some don’t. Eschatologically, some are Amillenial, some are Post-Millenial, and some are Pre-Millenial. Some believe they will go to heaven, others believe they will be on the earth. Some believe in an immortal soul, most believe we sleep in death until the resurrection. A few believe in hellfire, most don’t. Yet there is real, Christian love abundant in the fellowship, and deep, abiding friendships amoung the brothers and sisters. How can this be? You would think there would be chaos.

It wasn’t always like this. When I first met this group, many were intent on hammering out the “true” doctrine, in detail, through debate and discourse. Others believed they already had it and had to convince everyone else. There were a lot of arguments and hurt feelings, and many left to go back to denominations, where the doctrine was well-defined, or they left church life altogether. I began to realize that it simply was not possible to create a “true” biblical theological system beyond the essentials. Not because the bible was unreliable, but because the bible simply does not define most doctrine beyond what is essential for salvation. Also, many of the prophecies and teachings in the bible will not be clearly understood until Jesus Christ returns.

Our fellowship began to realize that the true mark of a Christian was not adherence to a detailed theological system, but the risen Christ living through an individual, as evidenced by the fruits of the Spirit, especially Christian love. Like the Anabaptists, we learned that teachings could not be imposed. Individual Christians had to learn biblical truth at their own speed, according to their own experience and conscience. We could help them learn, but “God would make it grow.” We could lead them to Christ, but they had to walk with him from there. And then we had to get out of the way. We learned we must never put ourselves, an organization, a doctrinal system, or any other thing “made with hands” in between them and the Lord Jesus, the “only mediator between God and man”. To do so is to create an idol.

But is not truth important? Of course it is. But we learned that once someone is truly committed to, and united with, the risen Lord Jesus Christ, and he or she stays humble and teachable, the Lord will indeed teach them and correct them, for he “disciplines all those whom he loves.” So if we are true Christians, then we are on the true path that leads to true understanding, but we certainly have not yet arrived. We will be in different stages of spiritual development and so cannot possibly be united under one detailed doctrinal system. As well, we come from different backgrounds. Many doctrines have been ingrained for much of our lives, and will not easily be relinquished. And yet the Lord can use this fact in his service as we witness to those who we understand best, showing them the superior way of Jesus. We only see through a “dim mirror” now, but in that day it will be “face to face.” “As to what we will be we do not know, but we know we will be like him and see him as he is.” The objective is not to understand all the theological details, but to stay connected to our head, Christ Jesus, and to do God’s will. For “he who loves me [Jesus] obeys my commands”, and “this means everlasting life, knowing you, the true God, and the one you sent forth, Jesus Christ.”

Some will object that the world cannot be witnessed to by such an informal group of rag-tag Christians. No? Look at China. There is now an estimated 80-100 million Christians, mostly in illegal house churches throughout the country—unorganized and yet thriving spiritually. Jesus is indeed being witnessed to in a powerful way, but not through institutional religions--mostly through the free house churches. India is also catching fire. This pattern is being repeated in many countries that have little or no experience with Christianity, as well as those that do. God will have his witness for the Kingdom, whether the governments and traditional churches cooperate or not.

What about the bible? Is it full of contradictions? Does the fact that individuals come up with such varied interpretations prove that it is unreliable?

I would venture that most of the alleged contradictions have been answered, and the ones that remain are not important and probably will be addressed in the future. I believe they are only apparent contradictions at present. In any event, the bible has remained a true, reliable signpost leading to Christ, and a perfectly dependable and comprehensive guide for those desiring to please God. The internal harmony, startling fulfillment of prophecy, divine wisdom, precise use of language and candidness prove to me and many others, that it is the work of God.

What about the canon? I would say simply the fact that it’s been around in its current form for some 1500 or 1600 years (maybe longer) and is now used in almost all denominations suggests that Christians are genuinely happy with it. Although there is no clear evidence that God defined the canon, I think the collection of books speaks for itself. Under whose authority would we revise the canon? How about the Jesus Seminar: that group of scholars that vote on biblical passages with colored beans, stripping out all they deem as faulty, reducing the bible to a set of nice life principles? God save us from the Jesus Seminar and those like them! Or is there someone today that has special canon-defining authority from God? Then let him show himself and deliver his credentials. Until then, I believe it is the course of wisdom to continue with what we have. As a friend of mine said: People who criticize the bible need to spend more time studying it!

What about varied and contradictory interpretations? Can the bible be made to say anything we like? Yes, if, in John Stott’s words, we are unscrupulous enough. But if we are honest, humble and seek God earnestly for direction and illumination, and use a consistent hermeneutical method, letting the bible interpret itself, as well as not imposing clarity where the bible is ambiguous, we will find the bible is a divinely dependable source of Godly truth. I suggest that in areas that are essential for salvation, the bible is very clear. For example, the bible clearly teaches, and most if not all Christians would agree that:

- God Almighty created the heavens and the earth and all living things.

- Adam and Eve sinned and brought condemnation upon the human race.

- God first dealt with the nation of Israel exclusively as a people, but also as a type and a vehicle to bring about his greater purposes.

- In due time, God sent his son Jesus Christ, a Jew, into the world to teach people about the Kingdom and to die a sacrificial death for all mankind, once for all time.

- Jesus Christ rose from the dead, appeared to his disciples and then ascended to heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father.

- Now all people—Jews and Gentiles—who put their faith in Christ’s sacrifice, accepting him as Savior and Lord will be forgiven of their sins, be reconciled to God, and will ultimately merit eternal life.

- Christ will return to judge the world.

- In the future there will be new heavens and a new earth where love and true worship will reign and evil will be absent. All creation will be reconciled back to God.

We could add many more teachings that the bible is crystal clear on, but these should suffice.  The bible does reliably teach what is necessary to know for salvation: namely, that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior, and that we must accept this and commit to following him.  There are many more truths we will learn as we go, but none will save us more than this one truth and our acceptance of it already has.

So what is it like in an informal house-church fellowship?

The experiences are varied. Many house churches are very unstructured and spirit-led. Ours is more structured, and focused around teaching, probably due to our particular backgrounds.

We arrived around 9am last Sunday to this beautiful, large farmhouse on a small hill overlooking a gentle, green valley... Eva and Frank, the hosts for the meeting, had breakfast cooked and there was a lot of animated conversation going already around the dining room table, and lots of hugs and kisses as new people arrived. I set up the guitars and got out my music, bible and notes, and had something to eat. I opened the meeting at 10am with prayer, songs of praise, and communal prayer—each taking a turn that had something on their heart. By this time there were about 30 people or so, with more still arriving.

Gerry gave a talk, “A Liberating View of Divorce and Remarriage”, followed by energetic discussion. We broke for lunch (house churches love their food)—more conversation, more people arriving, laughter, discussion, more hugs.

After lunch, Cliff talked about biblical “Disturbing Facts and Comforting Fiction”, again followed by animated discussion. Chris led us in a study in the book of Hosea. We were amazed at all the references to Jesus Christ in Hosea! I sensed the great intellect of God behind the compilation of his word—weaving together the intricate and interconnected patterns through history.

Lewis gave the baptism talk. There were three candidates who announced verbally their decision to dedicate their lives to Christ. It was very moving for all of us. Then, like the exodus, we walked across the field to the neighbour’s house to use their swimming pool which they had warmed up for us. The candidates, as well as the two baptizers, donned white robes. By this time there were 50-60 people present, including family members of the candidates. The ceremony was beautiful and serene. We prayed before the baptisms and sang a song of praise afterwards, by the poolside. Then we made the exodus back. The weather was wonderful—sunny and warm, the sky a deep blue against the lush green countryside.

Back at the farmhouse, we had a discussion about the Christian’s role in the community, followed by a testimony meeting. Dave, one of the newly baptized Christians, sang a song he had written about his first coming to Christ. It was very moving. His wife April testified to her love for the Lord. Marina read Psalm 143, and told us this was the Psalm that brought her to God after a particularly hard time in her life. There was hardly a dry eye in the house.

We sang a final song of praise that almost shook the house, and had dinner together. We stayed late into the evening—no one wanted to leave. The Holy Spirit was operating powerfully, and joy was overflowing in all hearts. There was a Moslem man that attended and was very moved. He wanted to be notified when the next meeting would be. Praise God!

So is God only working through the house churches now? No, I’m not saying that. I believe Christianity is wherever there are true Christians. And what is a true Christian? Simply one through whom Jesus is living. One who is doing God’s will to the best of his ability. One who demonstrates humility, love, and kindness. One who considers the bible the word of God, and who studies it and applies it so as to serve his brothers and neighbours effectively and to please his Creator. One who, like Christ, disowns himself, picking up his cross to follow after his Lord wherever he leads. This is the true path and the good life God has called us to. It is the path that is not easy, but which brings immeasurable joy and innumerable true friends in this age, and in the next, everlasting life and indescribable spiritual treasures.

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